Building Careers in Plant
Pathology and Microbiology
A Graduate Student Profile of Mandi Vest
Mandi Vest is graduate student working on her masters in Plant Pathology.
Her research is focused on the epidemiology of Pierce’s disease of grape in the
Texas Hill Country, and she is also studying the movement of the bacterium Xylella
fastidiosa, which is the causal agent of Pierce’s disease, in Cabernet sauvignon,
Chardonnay, and Cynthiana (Norton) grapevines. This disease is devastating the
California wine grape industry and is also the single greatest threat to viticulture
in Texas. Her research is under the supervision of Dr. David Appel, a Professor,
Extension Specialist of oak tree diseases, and the Assistant Department Head in the
Department of Plant Pathology and Microbiology. Mandi’s career goals after earning
her Masters degree from Texas A&M University is to work with growers as an Extension
Agent, work through an international agricultural agency in a foreign country, and
eventually pursue a PhD to become a teacher of agriculture, microbiology, or general
biology. As a graduate student at TAMU, Mandi benefits from working with experts in
many agricultural fields including horticulture and entomology, and she is learning
how to use cutting edge technology in her laboratory research.
Mandi Vest is graduate student working on her masters in Plant Pathology.
Her research is focused on the epidemiology of Pierce’s disease of grape in the
Texas Hill Country, and she is also studying the movement of the bacterium Xylella
fastidiosa, which is the causal agent of Pierce’s disease, in Cabernet sauvignon,
Chardonnay, and Cynthiana (Norton) grapevines. This disease is devastating the
California wine grape industry and is also the single greatest threat to viticulture
in Texas. Her research is under the supervision of Dr. David Appel, a Professor,
Extension Specialist of oak tree diseases, and the Assistant Department Head in the
Department of Plant Pathology and Microbiology. Mandi’s career goals after earning
her Masters degree from Texas A&M University is to work with growers as an Extension
Agent, work through an international agricultural agency in a foreign country, and
eventually pursue a PhD to become a teacher of agriculture, microbiology, or general
biology. As a graduate student at TAMU, Mandi benefits from working with experts in
many agricultural fields including horticulture and entomology, and she is learning
how to use cutting edge technology in her laboratory research.